The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Paul Austin. Austin was born in Texas and grew up on farms before joining the Texas National Guard. When his unit, the 144th Infantry Regiment, was federalized, he became a member of the 36th Infantry Division. He was training at Camp Bowie, Texas, when he received word Pearl Harbor had been attacked. His unit was detached and went to Fort Lewis, Washington, where it was spread out along the coast watching for a Japanese invasion. Austin eventually went to Officer Candidate School and was commissioned a second lieutenant. He shipped overseas in September 1942. When he arrived in Hawaii, he was attached to the 34th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. After more training in Australia, his unit moved to New Guinea and participated in the Hollandia invasion. After securing airfields, Austin’s unit was transported to Biak. Their next assignment took them to Leyte for the invasion. After the Leyte campaign, Austin went to Luzon and was attached to the 38th Infantry Division. In May, 1945, Austin returned to the US on leave and was discharged later in October.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Michael Bak. Bak was born in Garfield, New Jersey on 14 March 1923. He joined the US Navy Reserve in 1942 and went to the Great Lakes Naval Training Station for ten months. He then attended quartermaster school for four months. Upon graduating, he was assigned to the USS Franks (DD-554). The ship was assigned to Division 94 along with the USS Haggard (DD-555), USS Hailey (DD-556) and USS Johnston (DD-557). After training in bombardment, torpedo and depth charge launching, the division went to Pearl Harbor. Bak was involved in the invasions of Tarawa and Kwajalein, and the Battle of Leyte Gulf. He saw the USS Liscome Bay (CVE-56) get hit by a Japanese torpedo and recalls escorting the USS Washington (BB-56), damaged in a collision with the USS Indiana (BB-58), back to Pearl Harbor. The Franks was often designated a plane guard ship, assigned to rescue downed pilots. Bak describes the procedure. During the invasion of Okinawa, the Franks collided with the USS New Jersey (BB-62). The Franks’ captain died of injuries suffered during the accident and the ship went to Bremerton, Washington for major repairs. Bak …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Bob Balch. Balch joined the Navy in August of 1943. He completed Radio School in February of 1944. In June he traveled to Melanie Bay, New Guinea. He speaks on shellback initiation crossing the equator. He was assigned to the USS Blue Ridge (AGC-2), where he served as a radioman. In August of 1945, after the war ended, Balch worked at a communication center on Manus, in the Admiralty Islands. He worked in the China occupation group beginning October of 1945. Balch returned to the US and was discharged in February of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Warren C. Betcher. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, 22 June 1928, enlisted in the Marine Corps 22 June 1945 and completed basic training at Parris Island, South Carolina. After completing boot camp he describes shipping out to Guam after the war had ended. From there, he was shipped to Quindao, China and joined Easy Company, Second Battalion, First Marines, First Division. In the Spring of 1946 his company transferred to Peking for duty guarding various international embassies. He recalls various anecdotes of his time in Peking, including encounters with Chinese nationalists and communists, and being personally inspected by Chiang Kai-shek and his wife. He was involved with the repatriation of Japanese to their homeland. He relates that he returned to the United States in September 1947. In February 1948 he recalls being involved in a demonstration amphibious landing during which he suffered a hand injury that required five months hospitalization. After being discharged from the hospital he was transferred back to Parris Island where it was discovered that he had ruptured both kidneys in the amphibious landing at Camp Pendleton and he was discharged in September 1949.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Joseph Blum. Blum quit school, lied about his age and joined the Marines in December, 1943. He trained as an artilleryman and was deployed overseas to Okinawa. His artillery unit was deactivated and Blum then volunteered for service in the 5th Marine Regiment. After the war, Blum went to China on occupation duty in Beijing. He recalls several incidents involving repatriating Japanese soldiers and skirmishes with Chinese communists.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with J. W. “Bill” Boulware. He was born in Amarillo, Texas, 30 April 1926 and enlisted into the United States Marine Corps in 1944. After completing basic training, he was sent to the Navy Electronics School in Chicago. Then he went to an air control squadron in Cherry Point, North Carolina. In January 1945 he volunteered for aerial navigator School in Cherry Point where he trained as a navigator. He recalls that the war ended while he was at Cherry Point. In January 1946 he was transferred into a Marine air transport squadron located in Qingdao, China in the Shandong province about halfway between Beijing and Shanghai. He describes his mission as hauling equipment, including guns and money, within China. He recalls meeting White Russian refugees, as well as Chinese communists and nationalists in Shanghai. In August 1946 he returned to the United States and was discharged.

Recital performed at UNT Murchison Performing Arts Center, Winspear Hall on September 21, 2004 at 8:00 pm.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Roy Crawford. Crawford joined the Navy in January of 1944. He completed Radar Operator School, and served aboard the USS Richard P. Leary (DD-664) beginning late February. He worked as a radarman and engineers’ yeoman. They traveled to Pearl Harbor and in July provided escort duty to Eniwetok and Saipan. In September they supported landings at Peleliu, and at Leyte in October. They launched torpedoes at the Japanese battleship Yamashiro during the 25 October Battle of Surigao Strait, and rescued survivors from the USS Albert W. Grant (DD-649). Crawford recalls a kamikaze attack to the ship. They supplied gunfire support for the landings at Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Upon arriving at Adak, Alaska in August they learned that Japan had surrendered. They returned to the US in September of 1945. Crawford was discharged in March of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Barry Crites. Crites was born in Osage City, Kansas on 7 July 1928. After completing high school, he joined the Marine Corps in February 1946. Following boot camp in San Diego, he was sent to Camp Pendleton as part of the 104th replacement draft. He embarked on the troopship USS General J. C. Breckenridge (AP-176) in June 1946 and sailed to Tsingtao, China. He provides a description of his experiences during the transit. He says that Tsingtao was the headquarters of the Sixth Marine Division which was soon disbanded, and he was assigned to the First Division as a sales clerk at the local Post Exchange in Chinwangtao, China. Crites provides several anecdotes from his experiences in Tsingtao and Chinwangtao. He returned to the United States in January 1947 and was discharged at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station in California.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Ed De la Torres. De la Torres joined the Marines around 1945. He traveled to Pearl Harbor, and upon completing basic training, the atomic bombs were dropped on Japan in August of 1945. They traveled to Guam and De la Torres served as a rifleman. He worked to get remaining Japanese off the island. From there he went to Chinwangtao in China and joined an Allied tank unit. Working with the Merchant Marines, De la Torres helped bring in food for the civilian population. He returned home and was discharged in the spring of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Elbert Dixon. Dixon joined the Marine Corps in November of 1944. He completed radio school. In April of 1945 he went overseas as a replacement. He traveled to Pearl Harbor, and worked as a guard in the brig. They traveled on to Eniwetok, Truk, Kwajalein, Saipan and Guam. Dixon and his unit participated in the Battle of Okinawa, where he served as a radioman with Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines. Dixon was discharged in August of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Doy Duncan. He begins by speaking about finishing high school in Arkansas, looking for work, joining the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), enrolling in junior college, joining the Navy and evetually taking Civilian Pilot Training before being called into the Navy. His battalion commander at Preflight School at Chapel Hill, North Carolina was Gerald R. Ford, the future president. He passed and evetually made it into dive bomber training in Glenview, Illinois where he practiced carrier landings on Lake Michigan. Before shipping out, he was switched to a fighter unit assigned to the USS Kadashan Bay (CVE-76). Duncan speaks of attacking targets on Peleliu with napalm. Next, Duncan describes his actions at the Battle off Samar. He speaks of attacking the ships of the Japanese Fleet pursuing Taffy 3. His plane was damaged and he had to make a water landing. His plane sank too fast for him to retrieve his life raft and he saw sharks beginning to circle. A torpedo bomber flew over and tossed out a life raft for him. Duncan managed managed to paddle to Samar in a few days where he fell in with …

Recital performed at UNT College of Music Concert Hall on September 16, 2004 at 8:00 pm.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Robert Farneth. Farneth joined the Marine Corps in 1943. He trained as an ordnanceman, and joined fighter squadrons VMF-523 and VMF-524, training pilots to go overseas. In 1945 he joined the 22nd Marine Regiment, 6th Marine Division. They traveled to Guam and trained for the invasion of the mainland of Japan. After the bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki their mission ceased. Farneth was then sent to China to complete his final year of service. He helped repatriate the Japanese from the Chinese mainland. He was discharged in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Aubrey Felder. Felder joined the Navy in February of 1943. He completed training and served as an Aviation Machinist’s Mate aboard the USS Wolverine (IX-64), a training ship at Naval Station Great Lakes. Beginning January of 1944 Felder worked aboard the USS Kadashan Bay (CVE-76). They participated in the battles of Peleliu, Leyte Gulf, Luzon and the Battle off Samar in the Philippine Sea. Their ship was hit by a kamikaze. Felder returned to the US and was discharged in early 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with I.S. Fellner. Fellner joined the Navy in January of 1942. He was trained as a dive bomber pilot and went to Henderson Field on Guadalcanal in 1943. Fellner describes an emergency landing after being hit by flak over Bougainville. He then returned to the US and joined VB-13, attached to the USS Franklin (CV-13). Fellner describes another close call after a collision during a training mission. He discusses flying a photo reconnaissance mission over Peleliu and taking part on missions in support of the landings at Leyte. Fellner participated in an attack on the Japanese fleet at Surigao Straight and describes dive bombing a Japanese ship. He details the process of arming a bomb. Fellner discusses the kamikaze attack that damaged the Franklin. He returned to the US for shore duty and left the service soon after the surrender.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Edgar Fulwider. He was born in San Francisco, California in 1927 and joined the Merchant Marines in 1944 at the age of 17. He attended the Maritime Academy at Catalina Island, California. In February 1945 he shipped out as a Fireman/Water Tender on a T2 Tanker carrying six million gallons of bunker fuel (black oil) and one million gallons of aviation gasoline. The ship arrived off the Philippines as the islands were being liberated, then sailed to Iwo Jima for the last three weeks of that campaign and then went to Okinawa for the invasion. He describes the ship colliding with a destroyer while refueling during a typhoon. They returned to San Francisco for repairs. Upon arrival Fulwider was transferred to the Army Transportation Corps (ATC) and made two more round trips to the Philippines on troop carriers returning men to the US. At the end of the war he enlisted in the Marine Corps in September 1945, attending basic training in San Diego. He was assigned to duty in China as an infantryman in the First Marine Division. He describes his duty as member of a machine …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Robert Gill. Gill joined the Marine Corps around June of 1945. He traveled to Japan with the occupation and then on to China working as an engineer. He ran the water pumps and worked on the railway ensuring equipment ran properly to transport coal. He speaks on engaging bandits and communist soldiers that were stealing the coal and disrupting production. His living quarters were in a Japanese hospital. Upon returning to the US Gill was stationed in Washington DC at Marine Corps headquarters. Through his station he completed his GED and a degree from Georgetown University. Upon graduating Gill took a position with AT&T, responsible for the telephone facilities for NORAD. He remained in the Marines and was discharged around 1950.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Art Goetz. Goetz joined the Marine Corps in 1945 and received basic training at Parris Island followed by engineer training at Camp Lejeune. Upon completion, he was assigned to the 1st Engineer Battalion, stationed in China, where he performed maintenance work at the American Legation in Peking. He arrived in January 1946 to a welcoming population who lined the streets waving American flags. While there he visited the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, and the Whispering Wall at the Temple of Heaven. The exchange rate was so favorable to Americans that his acquaintance bought a Ming Dynasty urn for a few dollars, and Goetz purchased two cloisonné blouses for 25 cents each. In April 1947 Goetz was transferred to Guam with the 1st Marine Brigade. In 1948 he returned to China, this time stationed at Tsingtao. As the Chinese Civil War intensified, the engineers were the last to evacuate, loading their heavy equipment onto ships as shots were being fired all around the city. Goetz returned to the States in May 1949 and went on to serve in the Korean War. His last duty was as a special …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Donald Goldstein. He gives overviews of background on the battles of Pearl Harbor and Leyete Gulf.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Richard Hamilton. Hamilton joined the Marine Corps in July of 1945. In January of 1946 he was sent overseas as a replacement. He traveled to Tangku in North China, where he remained for the duration of his service. He worked on bridge guard duty, ensuring the bridges remained open. He shares his experiences living and working in China after the war. Hamilton was sent home and discharged in September of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John H. Hoagland. Hoagland finished college in June, 1941 and was working in a war industry plant making machine guns and airplane propellors before he joined the Navy. He trained as a radar man and was assigned to the Pacific Fleet in August, 1944. He served aboard the USS Lewis Hancock (DD-675), then the USS New Jersey (BB-62), where he worked in the combat information center as a radarman. He describes his participation in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, and defends Admiral Halsey's actions at Cape Engano. Hoagland also served aboard the USS Brush (DD-745) and experienced a typhoon. Hoagland left the serveic in December, 1945 and returned to Harvard Business School. During his career, he taught in the business school at Michigan State University.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Don L. Holmes. He joined the Marine Corps in 1943. In December 1944, he was sent to the Pacific Theater and assigned to an artillery regiment, E Battery of the 2nd Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division. He describes the landing on Iwo Jima on the third day of the invasion and supporting the 21st Marines, an infantry regiment. Following the surrender of Japan, he was sent to Tientsin, China with Company A, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines. He discusses his duty patrolling the Japanese compound as well as serving in a detachment tasked with transporting Japanese and Koreans to be repatriated to their respective countries. He also discusses the Chinese people and the conflict between the Nationalists and the Communists. He shares his memories of R & R in Peking, China. He was discharged in 1946. He also shares the story of his high school friend, Jack Wallace, a marine who was killed during the Eniwetok Invasion.

Recital performed at UNT College of Music Concert Hall on September 20, 2004 at 8:00 pm.